Fall Break Adventures: Dominican Republic
Two doctor of physical therapy candidates and two Bradley physical therapy professors join a medical team heading to San Juan in the Dominican Republic to change lives over Fall Break. Dorothy Fernandez DPT ’10 and Abigail Walk ’07 DPT ’10 will blog about their experiences in the Caribbean from October 10-18.
From Dorothy Fernandez DPT ‘10 and Abigail Walk ‘07 DPT ‘10…
Thursday was our last day in San Juan de la Maguana. We were given the opportunity to explore the community in the morning. Abigail went to barrios with the children’s ministry, and Dorothy helped with painting at a school. In the afternoon, we were able to observe the chiropractor followed by watching two surgeries.
We were generously invited by the director of the rehabilitation center to eat dinner at her home with her family, along with our translators for the week and therapists from the center. The director was grateful for our help during the week, and is excited for teams with physical therapists to come again in the future. We have estimated that approximately 75 evaluations were completed during our three and a half days at the clinic. Our time here has served as a wonderful learning experience, as well as strengthening our skills in the clinic and other aspects of life.
Today we returned back to Santo Domingo to see some historical sites. We will be back in the states on Sunday after a very rewarding experience.
From Dorothy Fernandez DPT ‘10 and Abigail Walk ‘07 DPT ‘10…
On Tuesday, we started our day with a new Dominican cultural experience by walking through the open street market where many vegetables, meat, clothing, and a multitude of miscellaneous items are sold.
For the remainder of the morning and afternoon, we examined and treated patients at the rehabilitation center next to a hospital. We saw a total of about 20 patients today with a range of diagnoses including patient(s) with post-stroke, post-spinal cord injuries, back complications, and secondary conditions post- orthopedic surgeries.
We educated a man with a large neurofibromatosis (large mass) on his leg before surgery. Tomorrow morning we will see him again to review gait training with crutches. We were unable to update the blog last night since we were up late observing surgery from a side room.
On Wednesday, we worked in surgery. This was a great experience, as the surgical team was willing to let us help hands-on. Due to the small number of people available to help the surgeon in the surgical room, other team members were welcomed to help. The nurse anesthesiologist instructed us on how to intubate a patient prior to surgery. It was an amazing experience that we normally would not have the chance to do.
The rest of the day we finished seeing the remainder of the patients at the rehabilitation clinic. Again we saw a wide variety of conditions. The language barrier has been a challenge, but the translators have been wonderful. We also have picked up a little Spanish while being here.
Thursday will be our last day working in San Juan.
From Dorothy Fernandez DPT ‘10 and Abigail Walk ‘07 DPT ‘10…
Today, we awoke to a wonderful Dominican breakfast with a plantain casserole, fruit, oatmeal, eggs, and Dominican coffee - plenty of goodness to get us energized for a long day ahead. We have learned to be flexible, because today began with one plan and quickly changed. This morning our physical therapy team was separated: Dorothy and Dawn went to an area school in a local barrio to teach body mechanics, transfer techniques, and bed positioning to nursing students, ages 14-18. Fortunately, an interpreter was at their side for assistance because none of the students understood English.
While Dorothy and Dawn were teaching in the morning, Abigail and Cheryl were sent to the hospital in the city to the rehabilitation clinic. Upon arriving, they were given a schedule of 25 patients to evaluate and set up with treatment. Dorothy and Dawn joined them in the afternoon for a full day of evaluating.
Working at the clinic was interesting. The patients and their families arrived in the morning to be seen by our therapy team, and waited there all day until the afternoon when they were called. We were able to examine a wide variety of patients from low back pain, post surgeries, undiagnosed neurological conditions, and an undiagnosed pediatric condition. While working at this rehabilitation clinic, we were made aware of different approaches to treatment.
This was a great day for learning and meeting people from the community. We will be working primarily in this clinic for the remainder of the week - at least as far as we know . . .
From Dorothy Fernandez DPT ‘10 and Abigail Walk ‘07 DPT ‘10…
This is our first full day in the Dominican Republic. Yesterday started at 12:15 a.m. when we left Peoria for O’Hare airport to catch our Chicago flight to Boston then to Santo Domingo, DR. Our first challenge was to make sure each bag with all our essential supplies only weighed 50 pounds or less, and each person checked in two bags. Fortunately, we had no problem, and all the flights were on time and went smoothly.
Once in Santo Domingo, we were greeted and taken by bus about four to five hours inland to Clinica Cristiana in San Juan de la Maguana, DR. We noticed the following while driving: (1) most modes of transportation are by motorcycles, sometimes piled with several people and (2) there is no pattern or organization to driving with few stoplights or signs. The mission lodging is quite nice, and the people are friendly and helpful. Twenty-three people are in our group: one surgeon, several nurses, an EMT, construction crew, children’s outreach group, chiropractor, and our physical therapy team from Bradley.
This morning we woke up to breakfast and then walked into town for a church service held in an old auditorium. While there, we met a mission team from Atlanta, Georgia, and another from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The remaining part of the day was spent eating a traditional Dominican meal for lunch, unloading and organizing supplies, and then heading back to church after dinner.
We hope to rest well tonight before the beginning of our busy week, which is probably going to start with teaching at a local hospital.
From Dorothy Fernandez DPT ‘10 and Abigail Walk ‘07 DPT ‘10…
We are finishing up our third and final year in Bradley’s doctor of physical therapy program. Both of us have been interested in missions work in the medical field, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to use some of the skills we have learned. We hope that after returning from this trip, we will have gained knowledge and perspective that will help us further develop our skills as we enter the professional field of physical therapy. We are excited about this opportunity to reach out of our comfort zone and serve others while working with a team of great professionals.
Professors Cheryl Sparks ‘98 and Dawn Hall will be going on the trip, so we’ll have a chance to work with patients under their supervision. Our medical team consists of a plastic surgeon, physical therapists, chiropractor, nurse anesthetist and several others who will be serving at Solid Rock Mission’s clinic in San Juan Republic. In addition to patient care, we have teaching opportunities scheduled within the community, at the hospital and at a local government nursing school. We will also hope to make some home visits. While we are at the clinic, other team members will be working on a construction project and building a children’s ministry.
Our hope is that by providing these services, we will be giving people the opportunity to change their lives. We have never been to the Dominican Republic and expect to be challenged by the differences we encounter. We are excited and feel blessed by this opportunity, and we hope you enjoy and can learn with us by reading about our adventures.
